Energy giants earn extra 40% in profits per home

Britain’s biggest energy companies earned an average 40 per cent more in profits per household over winter following a collapse in the wholesale prices they paid for gas and electricity, Ofgem, the energy regulator, said today.

Net margins earned by the companies, which include British Gas, ScottishPower, EDF Energy, RWE npower and E.ON, soared from an average of £75 per average dual fuel customer in November to £105 at the start of this month.

Ofgem pointed out that the increase in margins, to its highest level in six years, was likely to be short-lived because one big supplier, British Gas, recently cut its gas prices by 7 per cent in a move that is expected to open the floodgates to further price cuts from its rivals.

Nevertheless, the report is likely to prompt fresh calls for a competition committee inquiry as Centrica, the owner of British Gas, prepares to announce 2009 profits of about £550 million on Thursday.
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Scotland gets the go ahead for a Boiler Scrappage Scheme

It has today been announced that Scotland is going ahead with a Boiler Scrappage scheme, aimed at households with a G-rated efficiency boiler.

The scrappage scheme is providing £2m of funding which will be allocated as £400 towards the cost of a replacement A rated boiler. The A rated boilers can be combi boilers or system boilers. So long as they're A-rated, which means that they're highly efficient, it doesn't matter which format of heating system you choose.

central heating boilers are used in all but a few homes in the UK, with many homes still running on an old boiler - such as a back boiler which has a pilot light. It's claimed by the Energy Saving Trust that householders could save over £200 per year on their gas bill if they upgrade their boiler from a G-rated to an A-rated boiler.

If you're considering replacing your boiler, you may also like to consider replacing your heating radiators, if they're the same age as your boiler. Over time, the inside of your radiators can deteriorate, causing sediment to block your pipework and possibly damage your boiler's heat exchanger.

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Boiler scrappage scheme hit by delays

Thousands of householders who have applied for the government's boiler scrappage scheme are facing long delays for the vouchers needed to give their installers the go ahead.

The scheme, which was launched about three weeks ago, is designed to cut carbon emissions and help people save money on energy bills by offering householders a £400 voucher to replace their old G-rated boiler with an A-rated one.

It has received such an enthusiastic response from consumers that the Energy Saving Trust, the organisation that administers the scheme, has admitted it is battling to clear a huge backlog of applications.

By the beginning of this week it had received 160,000 calls, and around 36,000 people had applied for one of the 125,000 available vouchers.

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The battery's dead

The battery, which has powered our lives for generations, may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.

British scientists say they have created a plastic that can store and release electricity, revolutionising the way we use phones, drive cars - and even wear clothes.

It means the cases of mobiles and iPods could soon double up as their power source - leading to gadgets as thin as credit cards.
The technology could also lead to flexible computer screens that can be folded up and carried around like a piece of paper.

And it could even be used to create 'electric clothes' that charge up as a person moves around and which slowly release heat when the weather gets cold.

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